As has been confirmed by official data released by the National Association of Realtors, after registering a record rise of 10% for the month of October, sales of residential properties across the country managed to grow by 7.4% in November, to an annualized sales figure of 6.54 million units.

"This clearly is a rush of first-time buyers not wanting to miss out on the tax credit", said NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun.

Originally, November was suppose to be the last month for the Government's scheme of tax credit of up-to $8,000 for first time home buyers, but the deadline was extended recently, and expanded to benefit even more home buyers, so people now have until June next year to make purchases.

The high number of sales and the rapid rise has managed to surprise the housing sector as well, as a panel of experts put together by Briefing. com had expected the monthly sale to grow by only around 2.5% to 6.25 million units, compared to last month's sales figure of 6.1 million homes.

Extension of the rebate scheme and record low interest rates on mortgages are being viewed as main factors contributing to growth of sales of residential properties, a trend which is expected to continue over the coming times.